Vacuum-cleaner.



E. B. SMITH.

VACUUM CLEANER.

APPLICATHIHDN FILED JAN. 6. 19x3 1,235,849. Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

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E. B. SMITH.

VACUUM CLEANER.

APPUCATION HLED JAN. 6.1913- N ififififi k Patented A11 {,1911

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VACUUM CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 6. 1913.

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"UNITED STATES PATENT OFF EZRA B. SMITH, or. CHICA'GO. ILLINOIS. ASSIGNOR 'ro JERSEY swEEPE'n coMrAnY, 6F CHICAGO, ILLINoIsa CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

VACTQTUIVLCLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 6, 1913. Serial No. 740,279.

1 '0 all vclwm it may concern Be it known that I, liznx 1;. SMITH, a citi- '/.en of the United States. residing at Chicago, county of Cook, Stateot' lllinois, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovement in Yacuurn-Cleaners, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use the same. reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims: but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following-detailed description taken in connection with the accom mnying drawings. wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus arranged inaccordance with one form of my invention, the housing or casing being omitted;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through the longitudinal axis of the cleaner;

Fig. 3 is a detail of a device associated with the main shaft to permitthe latter to rotate inone direction and prevent rotation in the opposite direction, being a view'taken on line 3 8 of Fig. l; 1

Fig. 4 is a section approximately on line 4-4 of'Fig. 2 with the handle raised into an approximately vertical position;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4: v

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 66 of Fig. 4; Iand Fig. 7 is a side view of the dirt receptacle or bag.

' Referring to the drawings. 1 represents a' The various features of novelty whereby suitable frame structure supported'at the rear upon an axle, 2, having thereon wheels, 3. .\t the front of the frame is mounted a fan casing. 4, preferably lying horizontally so as to permit the use of a relatively large fan without making the height of the cleaner too gr at. At one side of the fan casing is a discharge outlet, -5, arranged tangentially as is usual in fans of the centrifugal type. In the center of the under side of the casing is an inlet op. uing, 6, leading to an inlet conduit, 7 which extends forwardly beneath the fan casing and terminates in a long, comparatively wide box, 8, closed at the top and sides and open at the bottom. The box ma wrest directly on'the floor and serve as a support for the front end of the machine, but I prefer to make use. of wheels or rollers of'some kind which will hold the bottom of the box slightly above the floor, thus leaving a slight air space around, the open mouth of the box and. doing away with the friction which would result through contact bet ween the mouth of the box and a tloor rug or carpet. support for the front end of the machine consists of small wheels. 9. mounted on a suitable transverse axle, 10 .fixed .lllOl see cured to the wallsof the member 8. -ithin the member 8 is preferably jom'ualed a small rotary brush 11 driven fronrthe wheels 9 or the axle 10 through suitable power transmitting devices such as friction wheels or gearing 12. With this arrangement. when the machine is pushed over the floor. the brush revolves, loosens the dirt and assists in picking up threads and fibers of various kinds which sometimes adhere very tightly to carpetsor rugs.

Within the fan casing is a centrifugal fan 13, which, when in operation. draws in' air through the mouth of the box 8 from which In the arrangement shown the it passes up through the conduit 7 and inlet opening 6 and is finally discharged by the fan through the outlet From the discharge outlet of the fan the air. and dirt may be carried away in any suitable manner, preferably into some sort of a container as, for example, a bag, 14, having a reduced neck. 15, which fits overtl and is detachably heldin m x a'su itable 'd" hargeoutlct catch 16: the other end'ofthe hag being providcd with suitable means for supporting it upon the handle 17 by which the machine is shaft.

total winding effort on the spring is greater than the power wlnch is consumed 1n un winding and driving the fan.

Associated with the shaft 43 is a suitable holding device which will prevent it from moving backward. that is which will prevent the unwinding of the spring at the center. In the arrangement shown, this holding device consists of .a wheel, 45, fixed upon the end of the shaft 13 and having a V-shaped groove, 16, extending circumferentially around the same. On a part of the frame of the machine, adjacent to the wheel- 45, is pivoted a dog, =17, having a cam-shaped end, 48, extending into the V-shaped groove in the wheel. The parts are so proportioned that when the winding shaft and its wheel, -15, are turned in one direction, the clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 3, the dog is automatically lifted and swung out of the way so as not'to interfere with the rotation of the shaft. As soon as the shaft starts to rotate in the opposite direction, the dog is drawn down so as to become wedged in the groove and arrests the backward movement of the winding shaft. Itwill be seen that 'the wheel 45 and the dog 47 are in effect a pawl and ratchet. device in which there is an infinite number of teeth so that the backward motion of the shaft is arrested in its H inception and consequently there is no lost motion in the winding shaft and all the power which is impressed on the spring must be applied through the driving gearing for the fan and can not be released through any backward movement of, .the winding Furthermore, by having smooth engaging surfacesbetween the wheel and the sequently the handle may be held at any de-,

dog, the action during the winding is noise-.

less, the noise incident to the riding of a pawl over ratchet teeth in the ordinary pawl and ratchet device being entirely eliminated.-

In machines of this kind it is necessary to have a handle by which they are moved over the floor, this being the handle 17 to which I have heretofore referred and in order to permit the fan to be operated conveniently while the'machine is being moved about, I prefer to have a suitable, simple operating means for the winding shaft associated with the propelling handle for the machine. In the arrangement shown, the handle '17 has at its inner end a fork or yoke, 50,'journaled upon a transverse shaft, 51, carried by the frame of the machine. This permits the handle to be swung in a vertical plane. Consired angle which will be most convenient for the user. this capacity for swinging movements on the part of the handle to secure a rotation of Furthermore, I make use of the winding shaft so that the winding shaft may be turned by simply moving the handle up and down. This method of applying power to the fan mechanism maynot al jays answer as is the case where'the machine is pushed under a piece of furniture and'the handle must lie in its lowermost position and has no capacity for swinging movements. For this reason I prefcr to associate with the handle some other power-applying device which does not depend for itsoperation on any particular angular position of the handle itself. To this end I have I made the handle tubular and have extended through it a shaft, 52, having on its-outer end a suitable handle lever or other device, 53, by which it may be rotated within the main handle. tween the winding shaft and its ope "ating means are as follows: The shaft 51 on which the propelling handle of the machine isjournaled lies just behind the winding shaft and has its axis in horizontal plane containing the axis of the winding shaftr ()n the end of the winding shaft adjacent to the shaft The driving connections be- 51 is a bevel gear, 55, meshing with a bevel pinion, 56, fixed to the shaft 51. Consequently arotation of the. shaft 51 in the I proper direction will cause the winding shaft to be turn-ed. Loose on the shaft 51 are two bevel gears, 57 and 58, these gears lying on opposite sides of-and meshlng with a bevel "pawls are pressed .oI 1twardly by suitable Fixed to the shaft 51 are two springs, 65. members. 70 and '(1. havlng annular hoodlike portions. 72 and 73. which surround the hubs ()0 and 61 respwtivcly. The members 72 and 73 are provided with, internal ratchet teeth, 7-L and 75. respectively: those ratchet teeth being adapted to coiipcrate gear 59 fixed upon the inner end of the with the dogs or pawls ($3 and (H. The pawl and ratchet devices are so arranged that they both are capable of turmng the shaft 51 in the same direction and of course have no influence on the shaft when they are turned backward. From this arrangement it followsthat when the mam handle of the machine 1s swung up and down thebevel gear I 59 turns the gears 57 and 58 back and forth,

the gears 57 and 58 moving together and in the same direction. During the upwail movement of the handle the pawls ($3 and 4 are caused to turn the members 72 and 73,

' thrusts upon the-gear wheels 57 and 58 were. 1 downward and backward instead of upward is turned, the rotation of the bevel gear 59 I carried thereby is transmitted to the gears .57 and 58, but these two gears are caused to 5- turn in opposite directions. Consequently when the shaft 52 is turned in one direction "the pawl arid; ratchet devices between the bevel gear 57 and the member 70 come into play and produce a rotation ofthe shaft 51 "over the-ratchet teeth'and has no e ect on the turning movement of the shaft 51.

When the shaft 52 is turned in the opposite movement'of the shaft 51 in a constant direc- 'tion is produced and this turning movement of the shaft 51 is transmitted to the winding gear \55 fixed to the winding shaft. It will also be seen 'that'theparts are so arranged that the thrust on'the bevel gears 57 and 58 which tends toactuatefthe winding shaft is always in the upward and forward direction "behindthesbaft 51 so that the tendency is 1 -to'- press downon the front end of the machine; lnotherwords, there is neverany tendency to lift the front end of the machine off the fiooras would be the case if the power and forward; "I regard this as animportant feature because if the application of power considerable tension there would be atendency to lift the front end of the machine off of the-machine without producingatendency to lift theba'ck; end of the machine Ibecause-the downward thrns't of the yoke on the shaft 51 ,substantially balances the upward thrust on the bevel gears.

8'0 L The'opera tion is as follows: Normally, the

.- handle comes to rest with 'the yokelying a upon ihe crosspiece 100 at the back-of the .fr'alme, the. parts being substantially in the positions indicated in Fig. 2 (213115 desired, v y v v y or cable. of l mited length which ;must be the handle 'canbe swung toward .the left from the position indicated in,,Fi g, 2 untilit stands substantially upright 0I "1S inclined forwardly from, agvertical plane pass ng" 6 through the axisoftheshaftfil; the handle I being sclffsuppdrting iin' thislatter position n ng a a a machine 9 as to takeupcveryhttle room.

-To clean a carpet, rugor door, the winding 1 6.5 shaft-is tnrned preferahly byturningthe while the pawl'on the other side sli s idly since'it issufiicient to work it from time shaft 'throughthe pinion 56 and the bevel were-such that 'whenrthe spring is under a.

v casilyirom the floor on toarugor over an 1 length- 'of'th'e eablh. I It will als'o he' seeh that I my machine possesses allthe' advahtages of directly above the body of the operating member 53 of the shaft 52 or swinging this member back and forth. As soon as the spring is placed under a small tensionthe' fan begins to operate and as the tension of the spring increases the speed' of the fan increases until a powerful suction through the mouth of the inlet box 8 is obltained, this suction drawing dust, dirt, threads and small particles on the floor into the fan casing from which they are discharged into the bag 14 through the centrifngal action of the fan. As the'rnachine-c is pushed across t-e floor the small brush in the mouth of the machine is caused to rotate and serves to loosen any dirt which may stick to the floor and assists in picking up thread, hair andj'other stringy or fibrous things. 1 The operating device for the winding shaftneed not be moved continuously totime as the fan shows indications of slowing down. When it is desired to clean the floor under a piece of furniture the handle is depressed suificiently to permit the machine" to be run underneath the furniture and the fan is kept in motion as before. As I have heretofore explained, the fan may be kept running for a considerable time after the movement of the operating handle or device ceases and this hasthe. advantage, in addition to those already enumerated, of permitting the machine to be inserted in out of thetwav places where it may be inconvenient to manipulate it and the operating members, the spring being first wound up and the fan being driven by the stored power in the spring. j During the operation of the fan then-ii: andqd irt is. discharged .into the bagwhere the dirt is filtered from the air and ,the aiixp asses through-the mesh in the bag as pure, clean air. rom time to time the bag is emptied in the manner heretofore explained.

In pushing th "machine ever the floor the front end may conveniently be lifted but slightly by pressing down upon' the f handle until the latter engages with'thc top= ,ofthe cross bar, 100 at the end of the frame, thus permitting thefmachine to'run iobstructionof any kind.

a simple and novel machine which has all the advantages of an electrically. driven machine without the disadvantage of a cord attached to a socket and detaehed'theiefrom whenever it is desired to runth 'cleaner to apoi'nt beyond the, limits allowed by the preyiousi meclianically actiiatedfmaehines, while "in addltionQ t 'contamsjnieans' for .eqnal i zing andstoring poweranjd 13 so con- It will hus be seen that I have produced a structed and arranged as t6 ipdrniit easy 13!) i 1 ,eeaess and convenient application of power when the machine is run under furniture or in '(lllfiqllt or out of the way places.

all forms and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the app'ended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, a suction fan at the front end of the machine, a train of gearing connected to the fan for driving the same, a spring connected to said train of gearing, a winding shaft for said spring having a bevel gear wheel at the rear end of the machine, a second hevel gear cooperating with the aforesaid 'bevel gear, and means for applying power toe-aid sec 0nd gear in a direction to produce a downward thrust upon the front end of themechine, said fan having a dust-receiving inlet.

2. In a machine of the character described, a suction fan supported at the front end of the machine, power transmitting mechanism including a storing and equalizing device carried by the machine and extending toward the rear end thereof, and means at the rear end of the machine for applying power to said mechanism in a direction produc ing a downward thrust upon the front end of the machine, said fan having a dust-receiving inlet.

3. In a machine of the character described, a carriage, a fan casing at the front end of the carriage and having downwardlyopening inlet, a suction fan in said casing, a spring mounted. on the carriage, gearing he tween the spring and the fan, a propelling handle for said carriage connected to the.

rear end thereof, and a. driving connection between said handle and said spring.

4. In a machine of the character described, a carriage, a fan casing mounted at the front end of the carriage and having a downwardly-opening inlet, a suction fan ar ranged in said casing, a propelling handle for said carriage at the rear end thereof, a

\ horizontal shait revolnbly mounted in the carriage in front of said handle, driving connections between said handle and said shaft, a spring connected to said shaft, and gearing arranged between said spring and said fan.

5. in a machine of the character described,

a carriage, a suction fan mounted on the front end of the carriage so as to revolve about a vertical a casing surrounding said fan and having an outwardlyhpening inlet, a. horizontal shaft revolnhly mounted in the carriage in rear oi": the fan casing, spring connected at one end to and snpport ed by said shaft, bet-ween other end of said spring}; and said fan, a nopei:

ling handle for said carriage arranged at the rear end thereof, and means associated with said handle rotating said shaft.

in a machine of the character described, a carriage, a shallow section fan inonnted the front end of the carriage so as to he new oluhle about a vertical axis, a fan casing surrounding said fan and having a down: wardly-opening inlet,'a power equalizing and storing so ing mounted on said in rear of the fan, between said sprin and said fan, a pronelling handle for t 1e carriage connected to the rear end thereof, and means associated with said hen dle for'winding said spring.

T. in a machine cf? the character descii'ihed, a carriage, a suction fan deyice mounted on the front oi the; carriage and lensing r downw ardlvopening inlet, a iiower-eoualia ing and storing s; n 3; mounted on said car rieug'e gearing; eiwecn said spring and said fan device, .pellinghandle for the can riage arranged at the rear end thereof, gearing lief-ween said propelling handle and said sprin the latter gearing ranged to pro re a downward thrust on the front end is"; t is being onerated.

8. in a machine he character sflesorihed, a suction fan the front end of the machine, train of gearing cor to the fan for driving the same, e. s inected to said earnnr a windin shah: ror saw spring having a bevel gear at the it; of the machine, a propelling han i machine connected. to the rear end thereof and having thereon a hex "cl gear, a third bevel gee-r arrangedv between the aforesaid bevel gears, and clutch mechanism eohperah ing with one of said bevel g are to limit the driving connection to a direction nrodnoing a downward thrust on the front end oi the machine in testimony whereofll sign cation in the presence out two it ne carriage when the gearing carria e 

